


Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches

by StudentOfEtherium



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School
Genre: Conversations, Fire, Gen, Inspired by a Mountain Goats Song, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:21:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28870725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StudentOfEtherium/pseuds/StudentOfEtherium
Summary: Ibuki and Peko have a conversation about fire.
Relationships: Mioda Ibuki & Pekoyama Peko
Kudos: 2





	Play with matches if you think you need to play with matches

**Author's Note:**

> title comes from Amy aka Spent Gladiator 1 by the Mountain Goats off the album Transcendental Youth. this is the first chapter of a fic I'm working on at the moment, but i think it has works well standalone, so I'll be releasing it this way and later, this same chapter will be included with the full story

“Ibuki likes playing with matches. She finds it fun, but more importantly, calming.” A light was struck and a fire slowly began. The musician held the match in her fingers, letting it burn. Next to her, I stared, uncertain of what to make of my friend’s behavior. “I can't say I see the appeal.”

Mioda plucked a few hairs and held them to the flame. “Ibuki supposes this might just be an Ibuki thing. She's always like it, but her dad didn't let her use them until recently. He didn't trust her with ‘such a serious responsibility.’” She dropped the hairs, now singed, and continued onwards. “It's nice to think about how much match can matter, too. The biggest blaze can be started by something as small as this. In the same way, individuals can do so much. I can set ablaze the world with my music despite being as small as a match.” She gave that idea no time to settle before shifting her focus once more. “Something about how fire moves is really nice, too. It's erratic, but predictable if you watch it enough. A match is just a microcosm of that. There's something calming about that, that maybe our erratic world will start to make sense if I jus- If Ibuki just watches it enough.”

I nodded. “I understand why someone like you would take solace in that. I suppose I'm just different. The world is erratic, but I have a place in it, standing beside my young master and the young miss. As long as I have them, I don't need to worry about what happens to me. A sword has its use, so it won't be discarded until that is served, and thankfully, those I protect will need my protection until death, be it mine or theirs. If I do my job right, that won't come to pass for many decades”

Mioda was silent for some time after that. In the interim, she plucked several more hairs out and burned them again. Mostly, she just watched the small flame. Every so often, she had to readjust herself, holding the stick a little lower. A subtle burning smell, only barely perceptible where I sat, and likely no further, arose.

Eventually, however, she spoke up. “Death is something else Ibuki connects to matches.” She blinked and caught herself, as if she had spoken without intent. After a moment, she continued, “Fire is temporary. Matches always go out eventually, no matter what. That's their purpose. No fire can burn forever, because eventually, whatever they're burning will run out. Ibuki is going to die, and so is everyone she knows, and if any of them have kids, they'll go to. Life is temporary, like the light of a match, but that's okay. Fires always go out eventually. That doesn't have to be a bad thing.”

I didn't respond and Ibuki said nothing more on the subject. Instead of talking, I chose to in the sight around me. 

When Mioda had heard I would be staying behind after school for the sake of my young miss, she had insisted on staying with me. I found her insistence difficult to fight back against and so her perspective won out. The young miss’s task was one that I couldn't be present for, so Mioda dragged me to the roof. 

By this point, the sun was setting behind us, coloring the gray concrete a vibrant shade of orange. Below us, Hope's Peak campus spread out. Several hundred feet away, the Ultimates course building stood, as tall and demanding of presence as ever. Below, the web of pathways lay, surrounded and covered by innumerable trees whose leaves were only showing the hint that they would soon change colors. An evening sky stood above, with whatever clouds being manipulated into a number of hues under the vanishing sun’s gaze.

Mioda sat on the building's edge while I sat only a few feet away. She hung her legs off the side, kicking back and forth restlessly. We had made idle chatter at times, but much of our meeting on the roof was silence. I had little to say and she had only barely more. This suited me. It let me clear my thoughts.

She blew out the candle and tossed it aside.

She reached into the box and pulled out another. She lit it and let it burn. This time, I turned to look. The small flame was threatened by the wind, which wasn't blowing especially hard. Yet it was plenty to endanger the lit match. Despite that, Mioda did nothing to protect the fire. When, at last, the fire went out, she merely tossed it where the other had landed. By now, a small pile was growing.

“Of course, a match can't compare to an open fire. Ibuki's mom used to take her camping, which is where her love of fire might have come from. Ibuki has a lot of positive memories of that. There's something nice about watching kindle light and seeing logs be consumed. A campfire, deep in the forest, can't be compared. A light in the darkness, a small beacon of humanity in nature. Bonfires, too. Each summer, Ibuki's sure to put on a bonfire on the beach with her bandmates, too. Find some driftwood and pile it and let it burn all night. It's a nice ritual. Of course, this year it has to be with Ibuki's ex-bandmates, but they didn't hesitate to join her. They appreciate the tradition, too”

“But it's been a while since Ibuki went camping. Maybe she should do that again.”

Mioda turned to face me. “Hey Peko, would you want to come with Ibuki if she went camping?” I shook my head. “No. I have a place beside my young master and the young miss that I cannot leave. To leave for a day or more would be unfeasible. It's an unacceptable suggestion.” Mioda frowned, then immediately perked up. “We could bring them with us, then! If you can't leave Fuyuhiko and Natsumi, take them with you. I'm sure they would love it.”

I closed my eyes and prepared to respond, but was cut off by my phone buzzing. I glanced down, just to check the ID of the sender. As expected, it was the young miss. I stood up, grabbed my bag, and said a quick goodbye to the musician as I left. I didn't turn around as I went, but I knew that behind me, she was lighting another match.


End file.
